15 Days of Dance - The Making of Ghost Light. Day Nine

Resource Information

The work 15 Days of Dance - The Making of Ghost Light. Day Nine represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Ramapo Catskill Library System. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Moving Image, Visual Materials.

Day Nine' is part of a series of films from Picture Start Films. Commissioned by Center for the Moving Image, University at Buffalo, Brian Reeder's new work for the ABT Studio Company is a ballet for six dancers set to Music for the Theater by Aaron Copland and featuring costumes designed by Reeder. Dance critic and Professor Ann Murphy writes, "Ghost light, as most theatergoers know, is the light left on in the theater. In Shakespeare's day theaters ritually kept a candle lit. Later it was a gas lamp, and today an electric light stays illuminated through the night to ward off the ghosts of past performances. Reeder's ballet honors the theater, the ghosts, ... And Caplan is the medium, filming the seen to capture the unseen, bringing us a little closer to the beautiful patterns hidden in front of our eyes. Sixty-eight hours of film have been edited down not to 1.5 or even 3 hours, or even 6, as documentaries at the outer reaches of the form might run, but to 18. While 15 Days of Dance is a document it is far more than that: it is an extended cinematic rumination on the making of art. Graciously, Reeder and the dancers allow us in to view their artistic process, a process closely guarded by most dance makers due, in part, to its intimacy but also due to its often discursive, improvisational nature." The film is divided into twenty parts and the total running time is 1354 minutes. It was released in 2010. The film documents in detail the creation of a dance by choreographer Brian Reeder and the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company in New York City, from the first day of work in the studio through to the first stage performance. Parts 1 through 17 all take place at the American Ballet Theatre Studios in New York and show the creative process of choreographer Brian Reeder and eleven young dancers as they create a new work to the music of Aaron Copland's "Music for the Theatre." Part 1 is the very first day of work and begins with the dancers having just heard the music they'll be performing to for the first time Part 2 ends with an interview of choreographer Brian Reeder after his first day of work. Part 4 begins with the dancers trying on their costumes. Part 15 includes a quick peak into preparations in the offices at American Ballet Theatre. Part 16 begins with a complete run-through performance in front of colleagues and friends of Brian Reeder. Part 17 includes trip planning and a final interview with Brian Reeder before heading to Buffalo, NY, where the new dance is to premiere. Parts 18 and 19 take place in Buffalo, NY and show the dancers preparing for the first stage performances. Part 18 begins with preparations for a performance for 3,500 public school students at the historic Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY. A QandA session with the students follows. Also here is a master class given to students by American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Kirk Peterson at the University at Buffalo. Part 19 includes preparations for the premiere performance at the University at Buffalo, a QandA session with students, and a pre-performance talk with press. Part 20 is the "Rehearsal Compilation." This is a special edit of the entire dance using carefully selected shots from throughout filming and is cut to the complete piece of music, Aaron Copland's "Music for the Theatre." Critical Acclaim: "A revolutionary project..., rigorous and highly entertaining" - The New York Times "... quiet magic ..." - Ann Murphy, Writing Dance "Every Moment Matters" - danceviewtimes "15 DAYS OF DANCE defines the journey ... Monumental ..." - National Gallery of Art, Washington DC "Critics Pick" - TIME OUT, New York